The Muslin: A Lesson in Patience

The muslin is completed, but not without a lot of anxiety and frustration. This pattern is not for the faint hearted! I cut out the pattern pieces and fit them on my dress form. (Last post) But when I cut out the muslin for the bodice and sewed it together, it was disastrous. The bodice did not come together well and was about two sizes too large. This has never happened for me when making a FBA. After great thought, and encouragement from my fiancee (he even made me lie on the floor in the sewing room at one point!) I decided that perhaps the alterations were not necessary.

So..... back to the drawing board. I left the alterations to the skirt to shorten above the waistline but took out the rest and cut out the pattern as is. Voila! It fit perfectly!

The construction of this pattern is very difficult. The insets on the front side and back bodice are attached into points and tight corners. On the back side, it has to match perfectly with the dart on the skirt. In order to successfully do this, all seams must be marked exactly and pinned perfectly. Unfortunately, you have to sew a side, unpin, pin the next side, sew again, and so forth.

I am pleased with the fit and what I think will be the end result. Next step: Starting on the actual dress. In the mean time, here are pictures of the muslin in a rust colored crepe.

The Alterations

After much thought and one sleepless night, the pattern alterations are completed. This was a tricky pattern to alter due to how the tucks are made and the small bust darts. To make the full bust adjustment, I used the method in Fit for Real People, and think it turned out well. I may have increased slightly too much according to the dress form, but the muslin will tell the real story. Here's a picture of the alteration:

The waistline also needed to be raised, which brought about another challenge because the waist is in the middle of tucks on the front. I raised the waistline 3/4 inch straight through all tucks and redrew them.

I usually need an adjustment for high rounded back and sloping shoulders, but it wasn't necessary because of how the pattern is drafted. The neck line is three inches below the base in the back, and the dress falls mid way on shoulder.

Next the Muslin! I have an orange/rust color crepe that I plan to use. I knew I'd find a use for that fabric some day!

Fabric and Patterns for the Wedding Suit!

The verdict is in! The fabric has been found. I went to Houston to see my daughter over the weekend in Houston and found just the right thing at High Fashion Fabrics. Actually, Stefanie found the fabric for the coat: a grey satin with beading. It was too much for the dress, so I found an off white crepe that was beefy and had wonderful drape.

Here are the fabrics:

The cream is a crepe fabric. The Satin is grey with beading. I have also made changes to my pattern selections. For the crepe fabric, I am making this Michael Kors design:

The jacket will be from this pattern:

I will be using a pearl and rhinestone button for the closure instead of the ribbon.

I will start working on the muslin for the dress this weekend. The big challenge will be the FBA. Stay tuned!